This invention pertains to commercial transactions and, more particularly, to the return of delivered merchandise with verifiable labels.
In the past, buyers of goods typically went from store to store to determine which goods they wanted to purchase. Buyers of clothing had an opportunity to try on the clothing and determine how the clothing looked on them. The buyers were also able to observe the type of fabric used to manufacture the clothing, the color of the fabric, and the quality of the clothing. When buyers purchased electronic goods, i.e., television sets, radios, clocks, computer, computer peripherals, digital cameras, stereos, etc., the buyer had an opportunity to observe the performance of the electronic goods. Buyers of books had an opportunity to read passages from books. Buyers of furniture had an opportunity to sit in a chair and determine how comfortable the chair was. The buyer could also examine the chair and determine the type of wood that was used to manufacture the chair and the quality of the chair. Thus, buyers of merchandise that were sold in stores had an opportunity to view and examine the goods that were offered for sale before they purchased the goods. Hence, the buyers knew what they were buying before they purchased the goods.
Many goods are currently being offered for sale from a catalog or over the internet. The prospective buyer of goods offered for sale from a catalog or the internet may have an opportunity to view an image of the goods offered for sale on a printed page and/or a display screen. The prospective buyer would not have an opportunity to view and examine the goods before they purchased the goods. Consequently, the buyer may be of the opinion that purchased clothing has a different fabric and color than what was shown in the internet or catalog picture. The buyer may also be of the opinion that the clothing was of inferior quality. Buyers of electronic goods often believed the equipment did not function in the manner they expected. Buyers of books and furniture also were of the opinion that the purchased books and/or furniture did not meet their expectations. Thus, the buyers of goods from catalogs or over the internet often wanted to return to the seller the purchased goods and receive their money back.
Typically, the buyer would telephone the seller and inform the seller that the buyer would like to return some or all of the purchased goods. The seller may send the buyer a Merchandise Return Label, tell the buyer to pack the goods that they want to return in the package in which the goods were sent, and affix the aforementioned label to the package. The buyer would have to write the buyer""s address on the label.
Current United States Postal Service Regulations regarding Merchandise Return Labels consider that goods mailed with the foregoing labels are xe2x80x9cpermit mailxe2x80x9d. Permit mail having the above labels will not be delivered directly to the seller, but will be delivered to the United States Post Office that issued the permit number. Thus, the seller will be inconvenienced by having to pick up the package containing the returned goods at the post office that issued the permit number. When the package containing the returned goods arrives at the Post Office, a postal employee will have to manually weigh the package; determine the postage that is due; complete the Merchandise Return Label; and receive payment from the permit holder when the permit holder receives the package. The above process is expensive, time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Copending U. S. Patent Application Docket No. F-185 filed herewith entitled xe2x80x9cA Method For Returning Merchandisexe2x80x9d solves the foregoing problems by providing a new type of Merchandise Return Label that may be printed on a buyer""s computer printer and paid for by the seller""s postage meter. Goods mailed with the new type of Merchandise Return Label will be considered xe2x80x9cmetered mailxe2x80x9d. Returned goods may be delivered directly to the buyer, and postal employees will not have to manually complete the new type of Merchandise Return Label. Since the mailing of the returned goods was paid for by a postage meter, the Post Office would not have to receive payment from the seller when the seller receives the package.
One of the disadvantages of the new Merchandise Return Label is that the Label can be photocopied and used to send many packages to the original sender on the same day that the original label is made. If the label is scanned and graphically edited by changing the date and other elements of the label on the recipient""s computer, the recipient may send many packages, on any date, to the original sender without paying for their delivery. An example of a way in which the new Merchandise Return Label may be used is as follows. Mailer A addresses mail piece #1 containing a new Merchandise Return Label to recipient B. Recipient B receives mail piece #1 from mailer A and copies many Merchandise Return Labels addressed to original mailer A. Recipient B may then place a copied Merchandise Return Label on packages that are sent to Mailer A and have the packages delivered by the post without the payment of additional postage. The above procedure may be continued many times without the payment of postage.
This invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by placing a unique number on Merchandise Return Labels so that the Label may not be scanned or photocopied and used more than once.
This invention accomplishes the foregoing by having the seller or shipper of the goods place a label or impression on every package, flat or mail piece that may be delivered with an indicia that is affixed thereto. The package, flat or mail piece (hereinafter xe2x80x9ccontainerxe2x80x9d) may be delivered by the post, a courier, or private delivery service, i.e., Federal Express(copyright), United Parcel Service(copyright), DHL(copyright), Emory(copyright), Airborne(copyright), etc. The label or impression may include the meter number that paid for the delivery of the container, the serial number of the indicia, as well as the weight of the shipped container. Information contained in the label or impression or information stored in the meter will be sent by the meter that paid for the shipment of the container to a data center. If the buyer of the shipped container decides to return the goods in the container to the seller, the buyer may notify the seller or the data center by telephone, facsimile, post, or the internet, of their intention to return the goods. The seller or the data center may send the buyer information to complete the new Merchandise Return Label (if the Label was contained in the container) by telephone, facsimile, post, or the internet, or send the buyer a completed Merchandise Return Label by facsimile, post, or the internet. The seller""s or shipper""s meter will be debited for the cost of returning the container. The buyer will enter the information provided by the data center on the new Merchandise Return Label (if the label was contained in the container) and affix the completed label to the container or affix a new label that has been supplied by the data center to the container. Then the buyer will deposit the container containing the returned goods with the Post, a courier, or private delivery service so that the goods in the container may be delivered to the buyer. Prevention of duplicating and/or copying of the unique number on the Merchandise Return Label is enabled by detection of modified indicia on the Merchandise Return Label; the addition of a unique number on the Merchandise Return Label, and searching the Merchandise Return Label and the original label for duplicate entrees. The data center will pay the post, courier, or private delivery service the amount debit to the meter for the cost of returning the container. The data center may deduct a service charge or fee for its services in completing the above.